Lost But Found
by HollyKalina23
Summary: One day, he was here. The next, he was gone. Four years later, Gary reunites with an old friend. Some of the Alpha team don't trust her. Can they band together to stop Red Flag or will this new Alpha pit the team against each other's throats?
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_Hey everyone. _

_Recently, a new show has been playing on SyFy in australia called Alphas and I've been addicted since the first episode. I got a big inspiration hit yesterday and I have been writing non-stop. This is the first chapter of my Alphas story._

_I hope everyone enjoys it. The rest of the Alpha team won't be in until next chapter at the earliest, maybe even the chapter after that so please try to hold on for them. I tried to make the characters as in character as I could. Gary was both the easiest and the hardest to keep in character but I think I did pretty well. What do you think?_

_Please review and let me know what you think of it. _

_P.S. The K+ rating is for mild language and some violence. Title is also subject to change._

**Chapter 1**

Gary Bell was the young, autistic boy who used to live next door to my father and me in Michigan. He lived there even before I moved in to the neighbouring house to the left. His mother, Sandra, constantly worried about him, what he ate, what he did and where he went. She was scared that her son would come home continuously with bruises and bloody noses from the rough school bullies.

That's where I came in.

I'm Jessica Lake, but most call me Jessie. I was born to Jonathon Lake and Felicia Palmer. I was just two when my mother fell ill. She was diagnosed with irreparable lung cancer from her years of smoking. She passed away when I was three.

I am about five foot six inches tall now with a slim figure. I have long brown hair that ends at my hips and light green eyes. My dad always told me they were my mother's eyes.

When we moved in though, my hair barely brushed my shoulders and I was just about four foot seven inches.

My father and I moved in next door to Sandra and Gary Bell when I turned nine. Gary was ten but he was in my grade at school, having been held back due to his autism. Despite his high functionality, the teachers felt he had some difficulty when he first began his schooling, thus he was forced to repeat the first grade.

Gary didn't mind. He enjoyed going to school everyday and learning more and more. But as the years went on, he became a target.

Several of the boys in the grades above him thought that because he was autistic, he was a retard and therefore, decided to exploit that for their own desires. They began to target him for their own bullying pleasure, leaving him scared to turn up to school each and every morning after.

By the time I arrived, Gary had just about had enough.

After getting ourselves settled, my father and I had headed over to introduce ourselves and to get to know our neighbours. Sandra greeted us at the door politely. She insisted that we both call her Sandra, despite my instincts to call her Mrs Bell. My father followed her into the living room, asking her about the neighbourhood, how long she'd lived there and did she live alone, because the décor suggested otherwise.

Sandra chuckled and replied, "No. I live here with my son, Gary. He's upstairs at the moment, trying to figure out his math homework."

Dad chuckled as well, taking a seat on the maroon coloured couch. "Well, Jessie here might be able to help. She's pretty good with numbers."

Sandra turned to me. "Jessie, is it?"

I nodded my head, smiling shyly.

"Would you please help Gary with his math homework? He's autistic so sometimes it can be hard for him to focus unless there's something there to bring him back on the right track," Sandra said, sounding like she was about to defend her son's autism.

But she didn't need to.

"I'd be happy to help, Sandra," I smiled politely, watching as she visibly relaxed her shoulders a little. I could tell she thought I would be disgusted that she'd even suggested I help Gary because he's autistic but it didn't matter to me. A person is a person, no matter what little quirks they have. It's something my father always told me and I thought it was perfectly fitting in almost every situation.

As I headed up the stairs, I heard my father say, "It's okay, Sandra. A person is a person, no matter what little quirks they have."

That would have Sandra relaxing fully now. She didn't have to worry about my father influencing me badly.

It was easy to tell which room was Gary's. It has a big sign on the door saying 'GARY'S ROOM'. Inside was a small boy, only looking to be about seven years old. I'd find out his true age a little later on.

"Gary?" I called softly. "My name is Jessica Lake. Your mom asked me to come and help you focus on your math homework." I treaded into the room lightly, watching the little boy flick his right hand to the left, stop for a moment to spreading his first two fingers and then curling his hand into a fist before the process repeated itself. His left hand held the right one steady.

I looked over this boy sitting on the floor even as I took a few more tentative steps into the room. He had short, dark brown hair, and piercing blue-green eyes. He was wearing beige slacks, colourful striped socks and a light multicoloured shirt that was buttoned up to the top. On his feet were black leather school shoes. I looked over to his desk where I saw his math homework untouched.

"Gary?" I called again, this time a little louder. Gary's hand curled into a fist and then his hands dropped as he turned to look at me. There was a slight amount of fear in his eyes. "Hi, Gary. My name is Jessica Lake, but you can call me Jessie. I'm your new neighbour. Your mom asked me to come help you focus on your math homework."

I could tell by the look on Gary's face that he hadn't even thought about doing his homework when he got home, just contents to flick his hand around, almost like he was scrolling through something.

"H-Hi, Jessie," He stuttered a little, still having that light amount of fear in his eyes. "I can't focus."

He definitely was a high functioning autistic with how well he was speaking. "Well, Gary. I'm here to help you focus. Do you need me to explain anything that you don't understand?" I asked, trying to get him on the right track.

The fear in his eyes diminished quickly. He rose awkwardly from the floor and slowly made his way over to the desk, shuffling through the papers before pulling out one of them. He walked back towards me just enough to reach and hand me the paper before he retracted his arm to play with the dark blue sweat band that was around his left wrist.

I scanned my eyes over the paper. It was a paper filled with fraction equations and fraction multiplication equations. I looked up at Gary to see him fidgeting nervously. I smiled at him, feeling happy when he relaxed and gave a shy smile back. "It's okay, Gary. I can help you with this. I'll explain how to work out these fraction equations before we move onto the multiplication ones. How does that sound?"

Gary looked at me and nodded his head slowly, like he was curious as to why I wanted to help him.

"Your mom told me about your autism, Gary," I watched as he tensed but I continued, "But I don't care. You're autistic, so what? You're still human."

Gary's expression portrayed his shock. Slowly that expression morphed into a bright smile. "You're eyes are pretty," He said brightly, taking a seat on his bed. I blushed darkly but smiled in return.

From then on, we were pretty much inseparable. We did everything together, birthdays, special occasions, everything. We'd walk home from school together, hang out at lunch and do homework at either of our houses.

It was probably the happiest time in my whole life.

But one day, Gary didn't come to school. He claimed to be sick. Later that afternoon, when I came home from yet another day of junior year, I walked down our street and saw a 'For Sale' sign out the front of his house. I walked up the walk way, curious about the sign. But no-one answered the door. I looked through the window and saw that all the furniture had been moved out and the house looked bare, like someone had taken its clothes off.

Then the brutal truth hit me and I crumpled to the ground, tears of despair sliding down my cheeks with more racing after them.

Gary Bell was gone.


	2. Chapter 2: The Big City

_Despite only getting one review for this story so far, I thought I'd update with another chapter while I had the time to. I'm really getting into this story and it's already up to five chapters and more than 11,000 words! Alphas is the big inspiration kick I've been needing for the last two months. _

_This chapter does have a bit of a back story for Jessie and some parts are a little vague but I did at least include more Alphas related material into this. ALL ALPHAS CHARACTERS MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN THIS CHAPTER! And for anyone who was wondering, it is in Jessie's point of view. I might switch it up during more angsty chapters. _

_One more thing: I've decided to get me back into the writing spirit, I'm holding a competition. First person to review on** BOTH** chapters of this story will win a oneshot written by me staring their favourite Alpha character. There will also be a dedication within the chapter as well. _

**Chapter 2**

It started when I was ten. Small things at first, a jingling chandelier, a shaking spoon but then came the good stuff.

When I was eighteen, my friend, Mary, was staying over the night, trying to cheer me up because it had been almost a year since Gary left without saying goodbye. We were making breakfast and I needed to get a knife out of the draw. Mary opened it next to her, making sure to keep an eye on the pancakes. I felt so miserable that I wished that the knife would come to me.

And sure enough, it did.

Our mouths were surely on the ground as we watched the knife fly up out of the draw, circle around Mary and then soar over to me, coming to rest next to my hand on the table.

Mary was frightened. The knife had nearly cut off her precious ponytail. Somehow, she figured I had something to do with the knife moving on its own because I never heard from her again.

In hindsight, it's probably better she didn't stick around.

A group of strange people visited our house a couple of weeks later. They kept asking me to join them, calling themselves representatives of Red Flag. I didn't know what Red Flag was. They said that I was extraordinary, that I could do things that no normal human could do.

Dad was suspicious of them immediately. He told me they gave off a strange aura that he didn't like. My dad could see the normally invisible auras around people. Auras showed a person's inner emotions and Red Flag didn't have good ones. They truly did want me to join them, but the reason for recruiting me was what Dad warned me about.

"They're evil people, Jessie. Their auras were red with a mix of black. They're angry and they don't care who they hurt," Dad said to me after they left. "Don't get mixed in with them. No matter what happens, don't join them. They'll only use you for your power."

My father hoped they wouldn't return after I refused. We both did. We decided to be prepared anyway, in case they did. We prayed that we would not have to be prepared.

But fate isn't always kind.

The four of them came around again a month later. This time, they brought weapons, not that they'd really need them. They ended up being just for show.

The three guys were broad shouldered and muscular. Two had blonde hair, the other a deep red. The deep red head and one of the blonde men had green eyes while the other blonde haired man had brown eyes. They wore matching outfits of black t-shirts on black pants, topped off with black sneakers. Each of their lips was curled into the own unique smirk.

The woman, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, scared me the most. She smiled in that way that a person does before they strike in her own dark outfit of a black blouse, black cardigan, black heels and a knee length black skirt.

I ran from them. My father steered me out into the backyard. He lifted me over the fence and told me to run, that he'd hold them off long enough for me to get away. I started crying. I didn't want to lose him.

But I had no choice.

The man with blonde hair and green eyes opened his mouth and commanded my father to surrender. It sounded strange to my ears. My father didn't relent. He kept telling me to run, tear filling his own eyes.

The woman clenched her fists, took a deep breath and almost instantly, a layer of sweat appeared on her skin. She took a step forward and was by my father's side, having blurred her way across the extensive yard. "Your sacrifice will not save her," She said to my father, hand on either of his shoulders. "She will join us, whether it is by force or willingly, it is up to her. So, Jessica," I cringed at the use of my full name, "What will you chose?"

"No! You can't join them. Don't give in!" Dad yelled. Then suddenly, he was choking, hands coming up to his throat. It was a sickening sound as he tried to bring in air to his lungs.

"Dad!" I screamed in fright. I had no idea what was happening.

Then I saw the red haired man coming down the back steps, his hand clenched into a fist by his throat. I knew then that he was the one choking my father. I screamed again as my father gave into the darkness that had to be clouding his vision and collapsed, unconscious on the ground.

So I did the only thing I could do.

I ran.

Over the fence into Mrs Bennett's yard, across Mr Dabney's front lawn and back to the front of my house, I took the bag filled with my clothes, phone and iPod from under the sprinkler system mainframe and then jumped into my car, silently glad that my dad had pushed me to get my license. With shaking hands, I started the ignition and when I looked up, the group of strange people were standing calmly in front of my car.

I screamed and backed away from them, spinning my car around so I could speed off in the direction away from them.

The blonde woman began to follow me. I willed the garbage cans in the street to fly into her, knocking her down. She didn't rise.

I left my home that day. And I hadn't been back since.

It's been three years since that day, four since I'd seen or heard from Gary Bell and Red Flag have come close to finding me a few times so I've been constantly on the move. This week, I was in New York, just a few blocks from One Police Plaza. An elderly woman had left her home to a friend of my father's and so when I appeared on her doorstep, soaked to the bone and covered in mud, she quickly invited me in.

She cleaned me up and gave me food. I didn't realise how much I missed chicken. My father's friend, Martha, lived with her son, Richie, who reminded me a little of Gary with his innocence. I couldn't tell her the truth so I told her that I'd been separated from my father and been wandering around trying to find him. I told her my search lead me to New York and I wouldn't stay too long.

But Martha was always a kind woman. She insisted I stay as long as I liked, and lead me to the guest room. It was a quaint little guest room, perfect for me, very simple but beautiful.

Richie was in the room next to me and Martha was in the room across the hallway. I thanked her feverishly before she gave me a light smack across the head, chuckling and telling me that it was no problem and she couldn't very well leave me to rot out in the street.

I felt very lucky.

Well, somewhat.

A month after I arrived at Martha's apartment, the same group of Red Flag agents found me when I went to do the grocery shopping for myself. I told Martha that I would pay for my own food, so as not to burden her too much. She didn't think I needed to but she relented.

The four agents spied me from different areas of the street. The woman was by a newspaper booth about a block ahead. The redheaded man was coming out of the men's clothing store three stores behind me. The blonde haired green eyed man leaned against the wall on the other side of the street and the other blonde haired man come out from a watch repair store on the other side, six stores from the man leaning against the wall.

I grew nervous but tried to keep my composure. There were too many people around or they would have confronted me already. I briskly walked back towards Martha's apartment, abandoning my shopping expedition. They followed me, keeping their distances.

Turning around the corner, I saw an alley way entrance up ahead. I only hoped that it was a through and through alley way. From the corner of my eye, I saw a man with black hair and brown eyes stare at me, looking at me like the other Red Flag agents were. He must have been working with them.

The alley way was a through and through so I ducked inside. I kept walking, hoping I could make it to the other road before they saw me but all of a sudden, I was immobilised. I couldn't move, I could barely even breathe.

The blonde woman blurred to a stop in front of me, her sneering face just inches from my own. The man with dark hair appeared behind her, smirking sadistically. His hand was outstretched towards me, holding me in place. I glared at the both of them, hearing their companions enter the alley behind me.

"You've given us a nice little chase, Jessica," The blonde woman sneered, watching me cringe at my full name, "And now, we've finally caught you. Are you going to join us or do you need some incentive?"

I glared at her harder, showing my defiance. I would never join them, not after what they'd put me through. Chasing me all over the country, hurting and possibly killing my father and they still thought I would willingly join them.

Or maybe they knew what my decision was before I'd even made it.

"She hasn't changed her mind, boss," The man with blonde hair and brown eyes said, "She also think that we're pretty stupid to expect her to give in willingly."

The woman's eyes sparkled with malice. "Oh, does she? That is interesting. James, if you will?"

The man with red hair, now I could identify as James, came forward to face me. He then put his hand by his throat and clenched it. My airway tightened rapidly, not allowing me to bring anymore air into my desperate lungs.

Blackness began to seep into my vision from the edges. I could feel my body shutting down and I fought with all my power against it. I lashed out with my ability and flung the man strangling me into the alley way, watching as he dropped down into an almost full dumpster. He didn't let up, instead squeezing tighter.

My ability lashed out radically, knocking over all of the agents as I tried to free my airway with no luck.

But the dark haired man did let go of my body.

Just as I collapsed onto my knees on the ground, a second group of people rounded the corner and a voice called, "There! Signal's there! Not moving!" It almost sounded familiar.

A tall man of about five foot eleven inches with very short, light brown hair ran into the alley. This man was wearing worn jeans with brown boots and a fitting grey t-shirt and he looked to be in his late twenties. He picked up a garbage can lid and flung it towards the man still choking me. I watched as the lid spun around and slid under the feet of the blonde man, knocking him off balance and breaking his concentration. Air flooded my lungs and I coughed, trying to absorb it all.

Next was a dark skinned man who was very tall, taller than the first man, and dressed in a navy and lavender suit clenched his fist and took a breath. It was almost the same as the woman but he then picked up one of the full dumpsters and flung it across the alleyway, making us all duck to avoid being hit by it. He looked like he was in his mid thirties.

The next person I could see was a woman who looked about twenty six with black curls that flowed down her back. She was wearing a beige blouse, dark blue wash jeans and beige heels.

Following her was a smaller woman who looked to be about twenty four. She was wearing a dark blue dress that reached down to her knees with a lavender cardigan over the top of it. On her feet were black ballet flats with black flowers on them.

As the fight went on behind me, I felt myself being dragged out of the way by a set of hands. I looked up and saw an older man with round glasses, a white beard and grey hair pulling me over to the women at the alley mouth. The man looked to be in his mid fifties, despite his salt and pepper image. His grey suit was getting dirty from pulling me out of the way but I was coughing too much to help.

He handed me off to the women and through the darkness in my vision, I saw a man stand behind them, looking to be about twenty one. He had short dark brown hair and blue-green coloured eyes. Dressed in beige slacks and a white button up shirt under a dark blue jacket, I recognised him almost immediately.

"Gary," I sighed, succumbing to the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3: Martha and Richie

_Hey everyone!_

_Well, I'm back with a new chapter. This one is dedicated to _**theuntitled** _for her amazing support and reviewing. Go check out her story called _**Shattering** **Glass**_. _

_I added a very slight mention of Castle in this. You'll know what I mean when you read it :)_

_So I've got my lasagna, my juice and I'm ready to get this show on the road. _

_Please Review And Enjoy!_

**Chapter 3**

The first thing I was aware of when I woke up, aside from my worn black t-shirt and denim jeans sticking to my sweat covered body, was the mumbling coming from my right. I could see my black sneakers were on the floor beside the bed. I turned my sore head slowly and what I saw had to be a mistake. Gary Bell was sitting in the blue chair against the wall, flicking his right hand, stopping for a moment to spread his first two fingers before curling his hand into a fist and then the process repeated itself as Gary mumbled disjointed sentences like "Hicks' perfect game", "Tell Tyler I love him" and "Raiders win against all odds".

It was almost exactly the way I found Gary that first day that we met and before I could stop myself, the tears in my eyes overflowed and a raw sob escaped my throat. Gary's head snapped towards me, concern written all over his face, and I so badly wished it to be real. I raised my hands to my face, pressing lightly as I continued to cry, hard, raw sobs of despair filling the room.

Gary mumbled, "Tell Doctor Rosen she's awake. Patient is awake."

I then felt his hand hesitantly touch my own and as he went to pull away, I twisted my hand around to intertwine our fingers, sobbing even more as I felt a real thumb rubbing my hand softly.

It was real. Gary Bell was here.

It took everything in me to stop crying enough to pull my hand away from my face. Gary's worried face greeted me and I gave him a watery smile. "I thought you disappeared."

Gary frowned at me. "But I didn't disappear. I came to work with Doctor Rosen. And Nina. And Bill. And Rachel. And now Hicks. And maybe you."

I didn't see where Gary was going but I knew now that I'd found him, that he was okay.

In a move neither Gary nor I saw coming, I flung myself into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder. Gary hesitantly wrapped his arms around me. "Don't be sad, Jessie. I'm here. I'm in front of you."

"I'm not sad, Gary," I whispered in his ear, "I'm happy. So very happy."

We stayed like that for another moment before I heard a knock at the door. I pulled my face from Gary's shoulder, not even caring that I probably looked a mess with puffy red eyes and tear tracks down my cheeks.

The woman with black curls opened the door. She saw me and smiled politely but I could tell she was shocked. Probably because Gary was letting me hug him, which even when he was little was a rare occurrence. "Uh, Gary? Doctor Rosen wants to come in and see how she's doing. Is that okay?"

Gary turned out of my embrace, moving to stand in the space between me and the wall and my heart fell slightly. "Yes. Doctor Rosen can come in, Nina."

So this was Nina. She was certainly beautiful. Tall with a slim figure, rosy lips and lovely brown eyes, everything I used to wish I could be.

Now, I just wish that Red Flag would leave me alone.

Nina smiled at Gary and me before retreating from the room. Seconds later, the older man from before walked calmly into the room. He cleared his throat. "Hello. I am Doctor Rosen." He introduced himself.

"Hi, doc," I replied shyly, my arms resting next to my legs, quivering slightly.

"I see you know our very own Gary but I thought it might be best to have a proper introduction. Now, I'd like to run a few small tests, just to assess your wellbeing. You've been unconscious for over eighteen hours," Doctor Rosen continued, giving me a non-threatening smile.

I nodded my head, lying back on the pillows. My head was beginning to spin. I heard Doctor Rosen move around my bed, grasping my wrist and checking my pulse, asking me to breathe while he listened to my lungs and feeling my head and throat for any lumps, bruises or cuts.

The tests also included an MRI, to "see if there has been any lobe damage to your brain from being suffocated for over a minute" Doctor Rosen said.

The MRI room was just down the hall. Doctor Rosen helped me stumble down the hallway. I was still shaky from being unconscious and from my increasingly dizzy sight. Eventually, Gary's help was needed to keep me walking. However hesitantly, he did help Doctor Rosen take me to the MRI machine and sit me down.

I felt very dizzy and my stomach was becoming more and more unsettled with each passing moment. Doctor Rosen must have seen from my face that I was about to be violently sick as he rushed from the room, instructing Gary to keep me sitting up so if I did vomit, I wouldn't choke on it.

I don't know how long Doctor Rosen was gone but as soon as he left, Gary's hand was on my back, rubbing lightly in small circles, not pressuring but constant, kind of like our friendship.

Though it did nothing to help quell my nausea, it did comfort me to know that Gary was still my friend.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, a bucket appeared in my hands, catching the first wave of vomit. For a while, I was violently sick, pausing every few minutes to get a breath in before it would start all over again, Gary's hand never leaving my back. Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over the lids, drawing lines down my cheeks.

I was so sick of crying.

Finally, there was nothing more to throw up. I could do nothing more than dry heave for a few more moments before I collapsed to the right, right into Gary's chest. My eyes slid shut and I was more tired than before. I couldn't move even if I tried.

And I certainly didn't want to.

Arms wrapped around my shoulders, steering me to lie down on the MRI machine. Gary and Doctor Rosen left the room and the machine whirled to life. I felt myself being moved into the middle of the machine but after that I knew no more.

* * *

><p>When I woke up again, it was morning and there was no Gary in my room. At first, I thought that Gary being here had been a dream, the same with Doctor Rosen and everyone else but that fear was soon put to rest as the woman in the blue dress walked into the room through the open door.<p>

She didn't realise I was awake until she lifted her head from her notebook. She jumped. "Oh! Y-You're awake. H-Hi, my name is R-Rachel. How are you feeling?" She asked me, seeming to be nervous.

I smiled inwardly at her. She reminded me of a very young Gary Bell. "I'm fine. I feel much better now," I replied.

Rachel gave me a shy smile before we both turned to the door as we heard chatter from outside. I didn't recognise either voice but I could hear that they were talking about me.

"Hicks, what do you think about this girl of Gary's?" A deep voice asked.

"I don't know, Bill. She doesn't seem like she's here to hurt anyone, let alone Gary, so you can quit being over protective," The other voice, Hicks, replied.

'Bill' grumbled quietly but didn't say anymore as a man with dark skin poked his head into the room with me and Rachel inside. Instantly, he saw I was awake. I chuckled quietly. "If you wanted to know anything about me, Bill, it's always better to ask than to bitch behind someone's back," I said.

Bill gave me a hard look but I just grinned back. Bill seemed like the kind of person to always be in charge and the kind to know everything. I'm sure my being here was putting him off quite a bit.

Oh, I could have a lot of fun with this.

"Also," I added, "I'm not Gary's girl. Gary is my friend, my best friend."

Bill looked at me like he was trying to size me up. I was beginning to get annoyed with him looking at me like I was just a threat to his perfect office life. The handle on the door began to jiggle and its shaking grew with each passing second that Bill stared at me.

Finally, I'd had enough. I willed the door to close, slamming it in Bill's face. Rachel looked at me shocked but I just grinned. That'll teach Bill.

Bill opened the door again and glared at me. I glared right back.

A second head poked in through the doorway, revealing the first man I'd see in that alleyway. "Hey there, kid. I'm Cameron, but call me Hicks."

I waved to Hicks, still glaring at the annoyed Bill. Hicks shrugged and pulled out his phone, no doubt texting Doctor Rosen and/or Gary, saying I was awake.

The room was getting crowded and it was making me uncomfortable. I never liked being in a small space with so many people. So I asked Bill and Hicks to leave. "Bill, Hicks. Can you both leave the room? I get claustrophobic and with too many people in this room and right now, I'm getting uncomfortable."

Hicks nodded in understanding while Bill still stared at me. Hicks just grabbed Bill by the upper arm and dragged him from the room, despite his protests. Rachel decided to leave as well, saying she would be back when she finished her analysis. Analysis of what I wasn't sure but I was glad for the space.

I shifted a little on the pillows and closed my eyes. Oh, if Martha and Richie could see what's going on right now. Wait….

Martha and Richie!

They had to be worried sick about me. I scrambled from the bed, feeling my dirty clothes stick to my person. I didn't care, I needed to get to a phone or get out of here. I stumbled out of the room, kicking the blankets from around my feet as I put my sneakers back on. I narrowly avoided slamming into the wall opposite the doorway.

I spotted the elevators at the end of the hall. I had to get out of here and check on Martha and Richie. If Red Flag tracked me here, they could track where I've been staying. Just as I reached the elevators, they opened, bringing with them the sight of a person that I had been wishing to see for three years: Gary Bell.

He seemed distracted, flicking his hands and mumbling sentences to himself. I tried to move around him but my right leg decided at that moment to become jelly and I braced myself for impact with the floor.

When I didn't feel myself hit the floor, I opened my eyes. Gary had caught me and was now kneeling in front of me, hands barely on my arms. I looked at Gary with tearful eyes and knew I had to tell him. He wouldn't let me leave if I didn't.

"Gary, I need to go. Those people who attacked me, they tracked me here. If they can track me here, they can track who I've been staying with. I won't let Martha or little Richie get hurt because of me!" I was firm in my decision. If Gary didn't want to help me, I would just have to find another way to get past him.

Gary rose from the floor, pulling me with him. "Where were you staying? Who are Martha and 'little' Richie?"

"I've been staying with a friend of my father's. Her name is Martha Jameson and she lives with her son, Richard. East end village," I replied. I was trying to focus on telling Gary what he needed to know but I was so sick with worry, it was very difficult.

Gary steered me towards an office to the left. Bill was sitting at the desk in there, writing on some papers. I didn't want to deal with Bill right now. I just needed to get to Martha's.

"Bill, Martha's in trouble. She's a target, so is Richie," Gary said. Bill sighed, clearly not understanding.

"The people who are letting me stay with them right now are in trouble, like big trouble. If I don't warn them, then Red Flag might go after them," I said, silently pleading with Bill to help but the moment I said 'Red Flag' his head snapped up and his eyes hardened.

"How do you know about Red Flag? Gary, what have you been telling her?" Bill snarled, turning his glare on the autistic man next to me.

Gary shrunk back slightly but shook his head. "Didn't say anything to Jessie. I didn't say anything about Red Flag."

Bill was growing even more like a dick than I originally thought he was. "Bill, Gary didn't tell me anything about Red Flag." Gary interrupted me.

"That's what I said," Gary said bluntly.

"I know, Gary," I smiled at my friend, glad I'd found him, before I turned back to Bill, a hard look on my face. "Red Flag have been chasing me for two years. They want to recruit me and those people who had me cornered in the alley? They were the ones using force. My dad," I paused, swallowing around the sudden lump in my throat, "He sacrificed himself to protect me from them. I have no idea what happened to him. I can only hope he wasn't captured. Red Flag are ruthless. They will hurt anybody just to get to me."

"How do I know, how do _we_ know, that you're not just going to run off once we get outside? How do we know that you won't contact Red Flag and let them know where you are? How do we know you're not working with them?" Bill questioned and to be fair, he had a right to.

But it didn't make me any less angry at him.

I slammed my hands down on his desk, ignoring Gary as he jumped next to me. "These people mean the world to me. They're like a second family to me and I would die to protect them. I have never joined nor will I ever join Red Flag because they're just a bunch of horrible people who only want to hurt everyone else. They barely have any humanity inside of them. My father sacrificed himself for me, so I could escape when they stormed our house. He gave up everything, possibly his freedom or even his own life just to keep me safe. Why would I go back on something like that? Why would I join Red Flag with everything that they have done?"

Bill stared at me for a second longer before grabbing his coat and the keys from the bowl on his desk. "Come on, Gary, Jessie. Better go check on this Martha and Richie. Don't want non-Alphas mixed up in this."

'Alphas?' I wondered to myself but decided not to voice my thought. It would probably be explained to me after we checked on Martha and Richie. I was glad that Bill listened to me and allowed me to come along. I was true in everything I said. Why would I join such an evil group after all the horrible things they've put me through?

Gary sat next to me in the back of the car while Bill claimed the whole front for himself. Gary kept his hands close to his chest, occasionally flicking his right hand. Bill asked me for directions a couple of times and those directions were the only words spoken the whole trip.

When we arrived, I leapt from the car, running into the apartment complex and up to Martha's door. When I spotted her bright red hair as she opened the door, I flung myself into her arms, overjoyed that she was safe. She hugged me back with abandon, actually lifting me up off the ground. "Oh, Jessie, where have you been?" She demanded, pulling back to look me over, "Your clothes are all dirty and you look so tired. Come inside."

I returned her embrace for a moment before I let go and took a step forward into the apartment. I then remembered about Gary and Bill. "Martha, this is Gary and Bill," I gestured to them as I said their names. Bill jerked his head in a quick nod while Gary waved shyly, fidgeting with his wristband. "They've been helping me and when I told them I was worried about you and Richie, Gary asked Bill to drive us over to check on you guys. I'm so glad you're okay." I said, following Martha into the apartment with Gary and Bill following behind me.

Martha went into the kitchen and brought out three glasses of water for us to drink. Gary lifted his up and felt it for a moment before he decreed, "Perfect temp" and drank his water. Bill glared at his glass, like it was full of poison. I sipped mine quietly.

"I've been worried about you since you didn't come home yesterday. I kept Richie home from school today because I was too worried to have him out of my sight," Martha said, "I was scared that he'd be taken as well." She added, absentmindedly.

I raised an eyebrow at that last statement. "Taken?"

Martha looked at me like she was just realising I was in the room. "Oh. Taken by Red Flag," She said, stunning me into silence. I saw from the corner of my eye Bill's jaw drop.

"You know about Red Flag?" I asked, surprised.

Martha nodded. "Yes. Your father warned me about them before he disappeared. He said that one day you might need my help so he needed to warn me about the people who might still be chasing you. Your father was a great man. He knew you'd never join Red Flag willingly."

Tears flooded my eyes again and I wiped at them furiously. I hated crying. "So you know about my ability?" I asked quietly. I saw Bill and Gary look at me then.

Again, Martha nodded.

"Thank you, Martha for not treating me differently. But we need you to come with us now. Your safety is compromised. Red Flag tracked me to New York. If they tracked me here, they can track who I'm staying with and I would rather not put you or Richie in the line of fire," I said to Martha. I prayed she would listen to me and leave before she was hurt or worse, that Richie would be hurt.

Martha smiled at me. "Oh, don't worry about Richie and I. I've had an escape plan in place since the week your father sent me that letter warning me. Richie and I are headed to my sister's house in West Virginia. I have a list of contact numbers for you. I'm tossing my phone so I'll have a new number and my sister's numbers are on there as well." Martha handed me a sheet of paper with three numbers on it. One I assumed to be Martha's new number. The other two I assumed to be her sister's mobile and her sisters landline.

I leaned forward and hugged Martha. "I'll get my stuff and you better go now, before they figure out I'm here," I whispered in her ear. I would miss her terribly.

"We'll miss you, Jessie. You know that, don't you?" She asked me. I nodded my head, unable to speak.

"Jessie?" A quiet voice called. I pulled away from my hug with Martha to see Richie hanging onto the door frame leading to his room. I smiled at him and gestured for him to come over.

When he was by my side, he threw himself into my arms, sobbing into my throat. "I don't want to go," Richie cried.

I rubbed his back in big circles and with tears filling my own eyes; I replied back, "Richie, you have to go. I don't want you to leave either but you need to go. I can't have you or your mother hurt because of m-me." My voice cracked at the end. It broke my heart to see this usually strong young boy in such pain.

A throat cleared behind me, interrupting the moment. I turned around to face Bill but he just looked at Gary. "Jessie, you need to get your stuff. Doctor Rosen isn't going to be happy. We left the office and didn't tell Nina or Rachel or Hicks," Gary said, fidgeting with his wrist band. In all the time I'd known Gary, I discovered that he only did that when he was nervous.

I smiled at Gary, letting know it was okay and that he was right. I did need to get my stuff and we did need to get back before that doctor blew a gasket.

Quickly, and with Martha and Richie following me, I travelled down to the guest room. I'd probably never see this place again. All of my stuff was either in my bag or strewn on my bed. I didn't like to unpack much because I knew I'd probably move in a week or so. My phone rested in my pocket. All of my clothes were packed, as well as all of my money, my iPod and the few little trinkets that I'd collected over the last two years. There weren't many, just a little figurine of Superman that I'd collected in Baltimore, a pizza key ring I got in Chicago, a little toy fishing rod that I'd received from an elderly woman in Oregon and a corn figurine with eyes and a green jumpsuit, mimicking the covering when it was picked from the vine, given to me by a farmer in Tennessee.

I'd travelled so much in the last couple of years but I never felt like this when leaving.

Martha and Richie gave me one last hug by the door and then we were both off, her and Richie to pack and drive to West Virginia, and me, back to where I'd woken up this morning.

My head leaned against the window as we drove back. Despite the bumps in the road that caused the car to jiggle and knock back into my head, it was a pleasant drive. My tears could fall and Bill didn't care, instead concentrating on the road, while Gary was flicking his hand again.

Before long, I was fast asleep, the lulling sounds of New York casting me away into dream land.


End file.
